This intermediate-level workshop will provide quantitative biologists and statisticians with the statistical background to understand the main-stream analyses performed by Program MARK, and the familiarity with the program to perform these analyses. A mixture of lectures and laboratory exercises will be provided. Participants will learn the basics of parameter estimation with likelihood theory, model selection with Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), and the binomial and multinomial distributions. The Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) mark-recapture, band (tag or ring) recovery, known fate, and closed captures models will be covered in detail. More advanced models will be described so that participants will understand the benefits of these models, but those models would not be covered extensively. Use of covariates, including individual covariates, will be covered with the CJS and band recovery models.

The clientele for this workshop are biologists with experience in the analysis of data from marked animals. The content is aimed at providing the participants with a solid background in the philosophy, theory, and analysis of data from marked animals. This is not a workshop for beginners to this subject.

Format of the workshop will be a combination of lectures and computer lab exercises. The workshop would start on Monday morning, 8:00am, June 5, 2006, and end Friday at noon (with some time during Friday afternoon to address specific user questions). Evening sessions would be provided as needed to cover the workshop material. A get-acquainted social will be held Sunday evening, June 4. We expect you to attend the Sunday evening social to become acquainted with the instructors and others taking the workshop. Thus, arrange your travel to arrive in Fort Collins by 5:00pm Sunday, June 4.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own data for analysis to the workshop, but should recognize that a thorough analysis will not be completed at the workshop. Given the amount of material to be covered, attendees likely would not be able to begin analysis of their own data until Thursday afternoon.

Cost for the 1-week workshop is $1,200, with a reduction to $1,000 for registered university students. This fee would include all course materials, CD with Program MARK and supporting documentation and examples, and facilities for the workshop, socials, banquet, and morning and afternoon refreshments.